Two familiar foes will once again meet for the Division 1 girls ice hockey state title at the TD Garden next Sunday.

Chris Klingenberg/Staff Writer

Two familiar foes will once again meet for the Division 1 girls ice hockey state title at the TD Garden next Sunday.

Last year, Arlington Catholic skated to a victory over St. Mary’s in the title game. St. Mary’s will be looking for revenge when they square off against the Cougars in a week

Getting to the Garden was no easy task for either squad. St. Mary’s did so by knocking off previously unbeaten and top-seeded Woburn, 4-3, in a shoot out while seventh-seeded Arlington Catholic skated to a hard-fought 3-2 overtime victory over third-seeded Westford Academy on Sunday night at the Chelmsford Forum.

“There is nothing for them to hang their head about,” said WA head coach Todd Fletcher. “This group of girls fought like heck all year. They were unfazed all year. We spotted them two, but going into the third period they were still unfazed. They were just mentally tough tonight. We told them that if you get one then the second one would come. They fought like heck right to the end.”

With the win, Arlington Catholic improved to 17-4-2 while the Lady Grey Ghosts finished the season with the same mark of 17-4-2.

With a little over nine minutes left in the overtime period, Arlington Catholic’s Adrieanna Rossini capitalized on a Westford Academy turnover and turned the miscue into the game-winner when she beat Kerry Pouliot (18 saves) 5-hole to send the Cougars into celebration mode. The goal for Rossini was the sophomores second on the evening.

“We spotted her (Rossini) as one of their best players but what she does is thrives on is capitalizing on your mistakes, and she did that tonight,” Fletcher said. “We have two turnovers that she is able to capitalize on, and the next thing you know the puck is in the back of our net.”

Trailing 2-0 heading into the final period, Arlington Catholic appeared to have this one in hand. Just 49 seconds into the third, Westford Academy’s Bretta Beer scored to cut the Cougar lead to one at 2-1. Kim Lizotte and Ali DiFonzo picked up assists on the play.

What happened next is a prime example of what momentum can be all about in sports.

With 4:29 left in the game, Arlington Catholic looked to put things away when Jessica Piracini skated in all alone on Pouliot. Piracini was pulled down from behind and rewarded a penalty shot on the play. Pouliot was up for the challenge as she made a nifty glove save to keep Westford Academy’s hopes alive.

A little over a minute later, the Lady Grey Ghosts were on the other side of the spectrum when Kathryn Walker was pulled down from behind and rewarded a penalty shot. Walker calmly deposited the puck past Megan Messuri to make the game 2-2.

“Kerry (Pouliot) saw a lot of shots,” Fletcher said. “She saw a lot of Grade A opportunities, and she shut the door. She gave the girls and our team a lot of hope. The girls believed in her and she played her heart out.”

The Cougars got on the board with 10:31 left in the opening period when Rossini used her speed to get by the Westford Academy defense and deposited a shot into the back of the net. Just over two minutes later, Mickey McLaughlin scored on a feed from Duggan Delano to make the score 2-0.